Review: Adventure Time Season 8 Episode 5 “Jelly Beans Have Power”

Bubblegum struggles with her powers as the Candy Elemental.

Spoilers Below:

Slime Princess and Bubblegum are having tea together, with Slime Princess showing off her newfound sliming abilities. While Slime Princess is rapidly adjusting to her powers as the Slime Elemental, Bubblegum can only produce a single jellybean. 

Later that night, Peppermint Butler wakes up to find Bubblegum trying to measure her abilities with a new device. It’s to no avail, and Peppermint Butler suggests she go to sleep. Just as she’s about to step into bed, a paper plane flies through her window, with a sigil printed on it. Bubblegum wonders what it means, and then falls asleep.

In her dreams, she meets the previous Candy Elemental, Chatsberry. He tells her that candy is in her very DNA, is one of the building blocks of life, and all she has to do is connect to herself. He touches her forehead, and then Bubblegum wakes up.  

She realizes that she can now produce a steady flow of jellybeans, but doing so exhausts her. She meets up with Slime Princess again and tries to show off her powers, but they are not still very impressive. Disappointed in herself, she deflects by chastising Slime Princess for bragging about her powers. Slime Princess recognizes that Bubblegum is jealous and leaves in a huff. Bubblegum realizes that she is feeling insecure because the Candy Kingdom is a reflection of her, but she doesn’t really know who she is. 

Later, a flying crystal entity enters the candy kingdom and starts attacking the townspeople. Bubblegum rushes to protect her people and uses her newfound powers to stop a tower from collapsing. The candy people cheer her on, and she tries attacking the entity with a stream of jellybeans. The entity’s shield is too powerful, and her candy just bounces off. The entity opens up to reveal the same sigil that appeared on the paper plane, and Bubblegum disassociates back into her mental world. 

She meets Chatsberry again, but he says that he cannot help her. She has to step through the door on her own. Once she wakes up, Bubblegum laments her powers because she is primarily a scientist and says, “At least science makes sense!” She thinks back to the combustible combination of soda pop and scotch mints that she saw Chatsberry create, and wonders if it can be used to pry open the crystal entity’s shield. She uses her knowledge of the molecular composition of each material to synthesize them, and blows the entity away, shield and all.

The explosion showers debris and ice crystals on the town below, and her people lie injured and broken. Bubblegum retreats in horror, realizing that she may have caused her citizens to fear her. Peppermint Butlers ridicules some children for eating the remains of the crystal entity, but when he tries it, he realizes that it is only ice.

Back in the ice kingdom, Patience sits in front of a complex wall with pictures of the other three elementals. She patiently folds another paper airplane and throws it directly at an image of Bubblegum.

Overview:

The last we heard of the Elementals was in “Elemental” when Patience was first introduced. It is still unknown what larger function the Elementals serve in the world, but they represent the four components that Ooo is comprised of. Patience previously attempted to get the Elementals to reunite, but the other three had little interest in doing so. Now it is clear that Patience is still operating behind the scenes, and trying to get the other Elementals to fully awaken. While we still have no idea what Patience is up to, she previously stated that she had “big plans” for Ooo, so it can’t be good. 

Most of the episode was about Bubblegum and her relationship with her identity and her powers. Magic and science fundamentally do not coexist in her mind so she is unable to tap into her Elemental powers. She is interested in possessing powers and using them for her own purposes, but she is unable to utilize them as long as she disapproves of magic. It is only when she uses her scientific mind to unleash her magical powers that she finds a balance between the two. 

The audience knows Bubblegum from the first episode, but she is still a mysterious figure, even to herself. She has very particular thoughts and ideas, and is dedicated to preserving order, but she does not have sufficient time to reflect upon herself. This is a step forward on Bubblegum’s path of self-discovery, and hopefully, subsequent episodes will give her more information about the Elementals to work with.